The Centre explains why vaccine production cannot be scaled up overnight

The Centre refuted reports that claimed there is a huge gap between Bharat Biotech’s claim of production and its supply by saying that an increase in gross vaccine production does not translate to immediate supply.

The Union health ministry said on Friday that vaccine production takes time and that even if it is increased, it will not result in an immediate increase in supply because it is not an overnight process. According to the Centre, a vaccine is a biological product of medical importance that takes time to harvest and test for quality. The increase in manufacturing, too, must be guided because the end product must be safe, according to the ministry, which defended its vaccination strategy.

The announcement comes after Congressman Rahul Gandhi questioned the vaccination rate and stated that there is no vaccination strategy in place. At the current rate, it will take another three years to vaccinate the entire population, and by that time, India will have experienced multiple pandemic waves. In response to this criticism, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar stated that the health ministry has a roadmap in place to vaccinate the entire population of the country by December 2021, as production capacity for current vaccines will be increased and more vaccines will be cleared in the coming days.

Covid-19 vaccines are in high demand around the world, according to the ministry, and manufacturers in different countries have limited manufacturing capacity. Despite the shortages, India has covered 200 million people in only 130 days, making it the world’s third-largest coverage.

Unaccounted for are 4 crore  Covaxin shots.

The ministry of health has denied reports that four crore Covaxin doses have gone missing. “Some media outlets reporting on the matter have misconstrued Bharat Biotech’s claims of 6 crore doses,” the statement said.

The ministry said that Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad, had supplied the Centre with 2,76,66,860 vaccine doses as of May 28. It produced 1 crore vaccine doses per month in April, and by July-August, it will be producing 7-7 crore vaccine doses per month. By September, nearly 10 crore doses will have been produced.

Several reports claimed that there is a gap between what Bharat Biotech claims to be producing and the vaccine supply, citing affidavits filed by the Centre and earlier statements by Bharat Biotech.